ERIE, Pa. -- Jack McIntire couldn't play competitive sports as a child because he had a gall bladder problem and his doctor wouldn't sign the permission slip.

But he enjoyed being around sports, and his younger brother was manager of McDowell High School's football team, which at the time was coached by Joe Moore.

McIntire eventually became involved, too, and discovered that working with athletes was the next best thing to being one.

And that's what he has done almost daily for the better part of the next four decades, including nine days ago, when McIntire ran four District 10 softball playoff games less than a week after undergoing his first chemotherapy treatment for pancreatic cancer.

The cancer diagnosis, which he received in late February, wasn't enough to keep McIntire from running the D-10 and Northwest Region Class AA wrestling tournaments in the following weeks.

Two months earlier, on New Year's Eve, the log home that McIntire and his wife, Rhoda, lived in on the edge of Waterford had burned to the ground during a winter storm.

Despite that, friends say that McIntire has kept his upbeat attitude.

"We all should be lucky enough to love what we do as much as Jack does," said Tom Jakubowski, who became a close friend of McIntire's when the two worked together in McDowell's athletic office for more than a decade.

McIntire, 62, will receive the first Varsity Cup Lifetime Achievement award at this year's banquet Wednesday at the Ambassador Center.

The award is a nod not only to his many contributions as an athletic trainer and administrator over nearly 40 years, but to his courage and ongoing work as he battles cancer.

"I can't think of a more deserving person," said Greenville wrestling coach John Reynolds, who credits McIntire for making a series of improvements as D-10 wrestling chairman over the past 12 years. "Jack's a selfless man, a soft-spoken man and a man of integrity. He's made a huge impact on the wrestling community."

McIntire grew up in Millcreek, the oldest of four children. His father, Jack Sr., worked as a laborer. His mother, Joyce, was a housewife.

During his sophomore year at McDowell, McIntire's interest in sports drew the attention of athletic director Ron Manchester. McDowell didn't have an athletic trainer at the time, and Manchester helped McIntire begin working with the school's injured athletes by studying manuals that were available through Cramer, a leading athletic training supplier.

"I got to where I really enjoyed that and knew it was something I wanted to do," McIntire said of athletic training.

The family didn't have much money, and McIntire was able to come up with enough scholarships to pay for only one semester at what was then Edinboro State College.

At Edinboro, a classmate introduced McIntire to Robert "Doc" Klinger, the school's head athletic trainer. Klinger befriended McIntire and offered him a work-study position that enabled him to earn his degree with a teaching certification in social studies. On Friday nights, McIntire would return home to work McDowell football games.

"I remember Jack vividly," said Klinger, 85, now retired and living in Daytona Beach Shores, Fla. "He was very dedicated, very punctual, very reliable. I had no qualms about putting him in charge of something if I wasn't available. I would rate him as one of the top student trainers I ever had."

McIntire said he is forever grateful to Klinger for giving him the chance to work his way through school.

"If it wasn't for him, I would have never been able to afford to pay for college," McIntire said. "Then that affects my family and everything else down the line."

After graduating, McIntire returned to McDowell to teach. The school still was without an athletic trainer. McIntire convinced the administration to allow him to create a training program and pay him a $1,000 annual stipend for running it.

McIntire and Rhoda, who were dating at the time, spent a weekend tearing pipes out of a room in the high school's basement that was being used to dry football equipment. They painted the walls and ceiling white, had lights and water put in and transformed the space into a training room that, having undergone subsequent renovation, is still used for that purpose today.

McIntire and Rhoda were married on Groundhog Day in 1974. They settled in Waterford and raised three children -- Joe, now 23, Hunter, 33, and Renee, 35.

McIntire has always worked odd jobs throughout his life, including as manager of various movie houses and drive-in theaters. He tried to involve his family as much as possible.

"One of the things I've always loved about working in athletics is that it allows me to take my kids with me on the job," McIntire said. "A lot of people aren't that fortunate."

Renee, now married with four children and living in California, remembers running the cash register at Skyway Drive-In under McIntire's supervision. Also at his side, she learned to tape ankles, thumbs and wrists and carefully scan the field for injured players.

"Some of my fondest memories are at the end of summer right before football season begins during two-a-days, especially the smell of the football field," she said. "I am running across the McDowell practice field helping my dad do his athletic training."

After more than two decades as McDowell's athletic trainer, McIntire became an assistant athletic director under Dave Hanlon in 1999.

The switch happened by chance. Hanlon was in a pinch one day for someone to serve as game manager and site manager for a playoff basketball game. His assistants were in Florida on a spring trip, and Hanlon had another commitment.

The gig went smoothly, and Hanlon later offered McIntire a position on his staff.

That gave McIntire the chance to work with Jakubowski, who had coached several sports at the school and became McDowell's athletic director following Hanlon's death in 2003.

"We were two peas in a pod," Jakubowski said. "We went through a lot together and I always had Jack's back and he always had mine. He always made sure the coaches, the kids and the fans were taken care of, and that the event was as exciting as possible for them. He always understood what the goal was."

McIntire eventually became District 10 wrestling chairman, later took on responsibility for the postseason cross country meet and, this year, added the track and field championships. He retired from McDowell two years ago but has continued his work for D-10.

"Jack's a workaholic, without question," said District 10 vice president and treasurer Gus Picardo, who worked closely with McIntire after handing over the wrestling chairmanship to him. "Wrestling is one of the toughest sports to run, and he runs it flawlessly. He wants to put on every event in a top-notch, classy way. He's an incredible individual."

Just as McIntire and Rhoda were settling into semi-retirement, a wind-blown fire destroyed their home in Waterford while they were visiting Renee in California over the holidays. They received a call from Hunter, a volunteer fireman, telling them there was little hope of saving the house.

"We lost everything -- 40 years of photos and scrapbooks, all the wedding photos and the baby pictures," Rhoda McIntire said.

A friend offered to let them move into his vacant home in Union City while their new house in Waterford is being built.

In the meantime, McIntire had been dealing with what he thought was a gall bladder issue, but doctors couldn't pinpoint the problem. Further tests revealed a tumor that grew from the tail of his pancreas and had begun to spread to other parts of his body. In late February he was given a prognosis of two to three months to live.

Rhoda said the family, which now includes eight grandchildren, has pulled together around its faith and vowed to help McIntire fight. They're braced for a difficult battle -- pancreatic cancer has a mortality rate above 90 percent.

"We've put our trust in the Good Lord to help us get through this," Rhoda said.\u00dMcIntire began chemotherapy treatments two weeks ago. From the start, he was determined not to let them interfere with work if at all possible. In the days following his first round of injections, he ran the D-10 track meet and a round of softball playoffs.

"He's a very courageous individual," Picardo said. "Even with (his health) as it is, all he was thinking about was that this was his first district track meet and how he could make sure it ran without a hitch for the kids and the coaches."

Those who have worked with him the longest have been hit hardest by the news of McIntire's prognosis.

Jakubowski cried when McIntire's son Joe called to tell him about it.

Picardo presented him with an outstanding service plaque at D-10's spring meeting. He was touched when McIntire told those in attendance he might not see them again.

D-10's athletic directors also honored McIntire recently. Cathedral Prep athletic director Bill Flanagan, who has known McIntire for more than 15 years, presented him with an award recognizing his years of service to athletics.

"I think Jack's the one guy that when you enter a room full of athletic people he always stands out because he's so genuine," Flanagan said. "Even now, he comes up and asks you how you're doing before you can ask the same of him."

In addition to the awards and recognition, other well wishers have sought out McIntire individually to offer their hopes for a recovery. He's been in touch with several coaches, officials and former athletes, many of whom he hadn't seen in years but who told him he affected their lives and helped influence their careers.

"I've heard from so many people in the last two months," McIntire said. "I'd just like to say thank you for your support. A miracle is what's going to save me. Prayer is the best thing right now. I'd like them to pray for me."

JOHN DUDLEY can be reached at 870-1677 or by e-mail. Follow him on Twitter at twitter.com/ETNdudley.